


This is Home

by AFabulousUsername (orphan_account)



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dr Cavanagh and Joe friendship, Joe talks to people that tend to get left out of big storylines, Joe tries to be a better person, Joe tries to make friends, Multi, Noah and Joe friendship, Redemption, joe-centric, tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23641216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/AFabulousUsername
Summary: Joe receives an email from Noah telling him that Graham is dead. Now that Graham is no longer in danger if Joe returns, He makes the decision to return to Emmerdale, But his old enemies are still there to haunt him.Despite this, for the first time he feels like he belongs somewhere, albeit a very messy and violent somewhere. He’s making friends with people that don’t judge him based on his surname, but bad blood can linger for years, and some people won’t let the feud die out.This is very loosely based on the Cavetown song ‘This is Home’
Relationships: Joseph Tate & Dr Liam Cavanagh, Joseph Tate & Noah Dingle, Joseph Tate & Priya Sharma, Joseph Tate & Victoria Sugden, To be added later
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey some bits of canon might be a bit incorrect, but that’s because it’s been a long time since Joe was in the show and I’m forgetful lol.

Joe had grown to seriously hate Ibiza. He hated having noisy fans disrupt his sleep each night, He hated all the weird insects that seemed to have a fondness for crawling in his shoes, He hated the drunken college students that would stop everybody in the hotel from enjoying their time in the sun by binge drinking and fighting. But he especially hated not being able to talk to anybody.

Back home, There was always somebody around. Debbie, Noah, Graham, Even if nobody he liked was available he could just go outside and somebody would start an argument with him. He used to hate that about Emmerdale, How you could never find any quiet. But as soon as he was gone he missed the constant buzz of activity and people recognising him no matter where he went. Now he spent his days working in the gift shop of a cheap hotel selling overpriced trinkets to gullible tourists. Did he need the money? No, he still had plenty of money left out of the 100 grand Graham gave him. But after spending days writing letters to Debbie that he would never post and after seeing on her Instagram that she had moved out of Emmerdale and gotten herself a new life without him, He realised he needed to get out of his hotel room and start laying down some roots.

But then the email came. Noah sent Joe quite a few emails, along with Debbie. Debbie gave up after a while, but Noah continued diligently emailing about everything. He would send almost daily emails, talking about his life and how Charity didn’t seem to care about him, and how he felt so alone in the town. Then other days he would just talk about school and funny stuff his friends told him. Joe had become an unofficial diary for the teenager. Noah believed that Joe must have gotten a new email address, or that he was simply being ignored and moved to spam. But in reality his brother read them all, but didn’t want to give him false hope of his return.

that changed when the email came.

“Hey Joe, I know you don’t read your mail, or maybe you do and you’re just ignoring me. Either way I really need you to come back. I know I’ve said it before but this is important. Remember how I told you about Rhona and Graham dating? Well Rhona’s ex killed Graham. I would’ve told you sooner, but I assumed that Rhona would’ve emailed you. Everything has been a mess since you left. And I get why you had to stay away, if you came back earlier then Graham would’ve got in trouble with Kim. But now you don’t have a reason to be away. If you come back now it could be just like old times. Charity is too busy hovering over Vanessa to fight with you, and Cain is distracted by the garage, so you don’t have to worry about him either. If you don’t have money for a plane ticket I could sell my PlayStation, and you could stay at the B and B until you get somewhere permanent. Please just come back. -Noah”

As soon as Joe finished reading he booked the first flight to England that he could find, quit his job and started packing his suitcase. Which didn’t take long because despite his previously lavish lifestyle he preferred to travel light.

He knew it was very possible that Kim would still want him dead, but it had been over a year so he could only hope her bloodlust had turned to a different unfortunate soul. And if it hadn’t then he would just have to deal with that when he arrived.

His memories of Emmerdale had all blurred together and it was hard to remember who hated him and who didn’t, partially because of the head injury and partially because every Dingle seemed to start war with a Tate at some point or other. Granted, Joe made some mistakes, but every Dingle that was angry about something they couldn’t control enjoyed nothing less than antagonising him or some other easy target. But this time he wouldn’t give into petty fights.

As Joe packed his favourite photo of him and Noah, he made a silent vow to do things differently. This would be his second chance, No more fighting with Dingles, No more secrets or schemes. He would just try and do the right thing for a change.

Easier said than done.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe returns to the village and Charity is less than pleased to see him.

As the taxi rolled into the familiar town, Joe felt dread build in his stomach. He was of course excited to see his brother, but he was not excited to see Kim, or Charity, Or Cain, Or the countless other people that disliked him. And he certainly wasn’t excited to have to navigate the town without Graham’s advice. He would miss his friend’s presence in every aspect of his life. But he was used to losing the ones he loved, and had grown to be a master of suppressing his grief.

Although Charity was spiteful, and Kim was manipulative, Cain was the one Joe was most scared of seeing. Cain was able to knock him out with one punch, where he wasn’t even intending to seriously injure him. If Cain was angry at him for letting him believe he was dead then who knows how violent he could get, Joe would not put murder past a man like Cain. Kim was calculated and cold, just like the people that Joe had surrounded himself by his entire life. But Cain was angry, impulsive and vicious. And those were not traits that Joe knew how to handle. When he woke up in the boot of Graham’s car he was convinced that he was dead, and this was what death was. Just darkness and pain. Needless to say he wasn’t in a hurry to relive those memories.

Through the taxi window he could see the familiar faces of people that he probably wronged at some point or time. His life in Emmerdale sometimes felt like it had happened to somebody else, and he was hoping to keep it that way and make a fresh start.

He had texted Noah in the airport before getting on the plane, just to let him know so he wouldn’t be too shocked. Joe was worried that his brother was lying in his emails, and that he would still hold a grudge about being abandoned, he wouldn’t blame him but it would still break his heart to lose the last person that actually cared about him in the world.

Joe hadn’t checked his phone after sending the text. He knew it would be filled with messages from Noah but he could wait to talk to him face to face. In his text he requested that the teenager keep his return secret, just so that he could settle in before delving into the madness of Emmerdale once more. Of course the B and B workers would know about his presence, but he had a decent amount of money to ensure that they remained discreet.

The taxi stopped by the door of the B&B and Joe took a deep breath. He had specifically requested darkened windows, so he would be able to see out but nobody else would be able to prematurely discover his arrival, and he could see Noah doing his best to look casual outside the building. After looking through as many windows as he could without looking too suspicious, he exited the car and Noah’s face lit up.

Joe couldn’t help but grin, it had been a long time since anybody had been happy to see him. Noah side hugged his brother, “I thought I was never going to see you again.” Joe grabbed his bags from the boot of the car.  
“I’m sorry that I never called, it’s just Graham-“

“I get it. It’s okay, you’re here now. But if you go running off again make sure to take me with you.” Noah was joking, but there was no denying that if the opportunity arose then he would leave Emmerdale and go with Joe anywhere.

“I’m not going to be running away again anytime soon, no matter how much I would like to deny it, Emmerdale is my home, and I plan to embrace it from now on.” Joe was so close to his return going off without a hitch, he was so close to the b&b, but typical to his luck, he heard a familiar ‘Hey!’ Coming from across the cobbles.

Joe’s breath caught in his throat as Charity approached, the sound of her shoes thudding against the street drowned out all the background noise. “I thought she was watching a movie with Vanessa.” Noah whispered. Joe swallowed and braced himself for a confrontation. He put his hands out in a sign of peace, “I’m not looking for trouble, I just want to spend some time with Noah-“ His defence was interrupted by a sharp punch to his jaw. Charity had always been stronger than she looked, and anybody with half a brain could see she held a lot of anger at just about anybody who crossed her, and just like Cain, Anger was a source of her strength.

The punch was at just the right angle to knock him to the ground and for his head to hit one of the billiards meant to stop cars from driving onto the pavement. Charity was yelling at Joe, and Noah was yelling at Charity along with a few passerby’s who were looking for the next piece of gossip. But Joe could hear none of it over the sound of blood pounding in his ears. He could taste blood in his mouth, and he reached his hand to the back of his head and it came back red. He struggled to breath as thoughts rushed through his head like trains with broken brakes. It was like history was repeating itself, He convinced himself that this was the end for him, and that he’d never be more than just a spoilt rich kid who did nothing except hurt people. 

“What’s his name?” A guy wearing a pressed shirt and blazer asked, a far cry from the usual dressed down garments of the village people, the man took off his blazer and knelt down beside him on the ground to start inspecting his head wound.

“His name is Joseph Tate.” Cain answered, seemingly appearing from nowhere as Chas’s soothing words started to calm Charity down.

“Alright Mr Tate, My name is Dr Cavanagh. An ambulance is coming soon just try not to move.” As if on cue Joe decided it would be a great time to try to stand up. Noah was still yelling at Charity, and he had turned to digs about her being a bad mother while Paddy tried unsuccessfully to take a leaf out of Chas’s book, and calm him down.

Joe shakily stood up, “Joseph-“ the doctor started to scold him, but didn’t get far as his legs gave out on him, the people all watching faded into black splodges and he hit the ground once more, his world fading into blackness as it did all that time ago when he left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cain pays a visit to Joe at the Hospital

Joe opened his eyes and squinted at the familiar bright lights of the hospital room. He had been in hospitals more times than he would have liked, and he hoped his tussle with Cain would’ve been the last time he’d be in a hospital bed.

"Good to see that you’re awake." Joe froze as his eyes adjusted to the unmistakable figure of Cain Dingle standing across from him. He was wearing a well-worn leather jacket and his arms were folded, his expression unreadable. Joe couldn’t tell if he wanted to apologise for almost killing him or finish the job.

"Well, Maybe good is a bit of a stretch."  
Yep he definitely wanted to finish the job. Joe briefly considered calling out for a doctor, but then realised that if Cain wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t stop coming after him, and it would be better to let him attack him in a hospital so that he could be sent to prison and Joe could only worry about Charity and Kim.

"What, No smart talk?" Cain asked.  
Joe’s pulse was racing, he told himself he wasn’t scared. That if he died then this would be the end of all the pain he caused to the ones he loved, but for a second he had hoped that he could have a life in Emmerdale. That he could get a normal job that didn’t involve manipulating people, that he could have normal healthy relationships with people that weren’t built on lies. He hoped he could be happy.

And now despite the lies that he told himself, he was terrified of death. He didn’t want people to spit on his grave as they visited loved ones, he didn’t want people to say ‘good riddance’ as the news of his death spread around the village, but most importantly he didn’t want Noah to be alone like Joe had been before he saved Graham those many years ago.

"You alright?" Cain asked, noticing his shaking hands and lack of proper breathing technique.

"If you’re going to kill me then get it over with, spare the small talk." He had tried to channel what Graham would say in a situation like this, but Graham never would’ve got himself into this position because he could actually fend for himself. Instead of being vulnerable to every Dingle that crossed his path.

Cain sighed. "I’m not going to kill you. I just wanted to let you know that when I attacked you I didn’t mean to actually hurt you, I just wanted to punish you for hurting Debbie."

Joe shifted himself to a sitting position. "I was coming back for her, I loved her, and I was ready to risk my life to marry her." His old confidence was back when it came to defending his love for Debbie. This was the first time he spoke about loving her in the past tense. For a while after he left, Joe believed he would never find love again. But then he started to let logic in. He was only 24, and in the scheme of things he didn’t properly date Debbie for very long, and when they did date they usually broke up quickly for various reasons before getting back together in an exhausting cycle.

"I know. And because I may have judged you too quickly in the past, I’ve decided to give you a second chance. You are technically family after all, You’re Noah’s half-brother and Charity’s Ex-step-son. So as long as you behave like a Dingle, and not a Tate, I’ll consider us even. Deal?"

Cain made it sound like Joe was the one that almost committed manslaughter, but Joe had worked in business long enough to know that the deal was good. "Deal. Any chance you could persuade Charity to adopt a similar mindset?" He asked hopefully.

Cain chuckled. "I’m good but I’m not that good. You’re going to have to deal with her yourself."

"Thought so." That would be a challenge. Joe had never known Charity Dingle to change her mind on anything, the closest thing they had to a truce was when she allowed him to see Noah. Now he definitely wouldn’t be allowed near him, and Joe wouldn’t put it past her to attack him again.

Cain said his goodbyes and left. It was funny how somebody Joe once thought to be violent and animalistic was actually one of the only people to welcome him back to Emmerdale. The enemies of the Dingles changed so quickly that Cain must have realised it was too hard to hold grudges against them all.

He could always try filing a restraining order, but Charity didn’t seem to care much for laws. He could try getting on her good side, but he had no clue what the woman wanted. Money wouldn’t get him far, he could throw thousands at her and she would gladly take it but still despise him. Maybe he could try to get Noah to talk to her? If he asked Noah to pretend that Joe convinced him to give Charity another chance, then maybe that would help him go up in her esteem.

No. Too much room for error, any time he lied in this village it came out and ruined him. He needed to learn from his mistakes. “Hello Mr Tate, I thought I’d let you talk to your friend before going over your diagnosis.”

Joe wouldn’t go as far as calling Cain his friend, but even being mistaken as his friend was a step up from their previous Relationship.

“You have a concussion, I have a leaflet here on some things to avoid, things to watch out for etcetera. Do you have somebody to stay with you for 48 hours?”

Joe went through his list of friends mentally. Noah had school so couldn’t stay for that long, Debbie probably hated him and Graham was dead. That was a depressing list.

As if on cue, Rhona appeared. Joe was unsure if Rhona was a Dingle. Her branch of the family tree was a mystery to Joe. But Rhona didn’t hate Joe, and although he didn’t want to ask for charity (no pun intended) he would go mad with boredom sitting in a hospital for 48 hours. So if he had to persuade Graham’s girlfriend to take pity on him then so be it. 

Joe could only make guesses about why Rhona was there. His best guess was she wanted to know more about Graham, and if going on a trip down memory lane meant he’d be free to leave then he was willing to make that trade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was so hard to decide whether I wanted Cain to be buddies with Joe or not. So I settled on tense acquaintances. I also couldn’t decide if I wanted Liam, Aaron or Rhona to interact with Joe first but I decided on Rhona because I figured she’d want to know a bit more about Graham considering they only dated for a few months. I want Joe to eventually interact with Aaron and Liam and then some other Random characters like Victoria and Matty. I’m also trying to work out what job would work best for Joe, considering there isn’t a lot of options in the village. Any suggestions are welcome, I’m mostly considering having him work on Moira’s farm, just because it’s so far away from what he’s used to and I think that would be funny. But I’d say he’d be able to help Rhona and Moira maximise their profits because of his experience in business. Maybe he could get a few investors or something idk how business works if you couldn’t already guess lol. Plus the farm would be a good chance to meet Matty because tbh Matty has a lot of potential that the show writers don’t tap into. They gave him the transitioning storyline and then one short storyline about dating that never went anywhere. I think it would be fun to see Matty and Joe go out on the town and try and probably fail at finding love while getting hammered.


End file.
